I have been very tight-lipped about this book – until today! Read below for the reason why.

Story summary: Adam has been at the same elementary school for years. Next year he starts middle school. The story explores the transition to the new school.

You can purchase it from Amazon. And soon I will have it at Barnes and Noble, Google, Apple, and wherever else e-books are read.

This book came about from an IEP meeting believe it or not. At the end of April, we had the transition meeting for my son. He’s graduating from elementary and will be starting middle school next year. His physical therapist was in the meeting, and she suggested I write a book about it. I agreed it was a good idea, but I simply didn’t have the time. When I think of how much effort I put into my first book, there was no way I could produce a second book.

I walked away from that meeting, and the thought stuck in my mind. How would I even start the story? How would I make it interesting? The story started coming together in my mind. And by the weekend rolled around, I had the storyline down.

The character development was already done, so I worked on the page layouts. Then I started illustrating each page.

One by one the book came together. Only problem is that I wanted to give it to the teachers, I thought it would make a heartfelt goodbye gift. I had to finish this book in four weeks.

Four weeks may sound like a lot of time. But when you’re creating a children’s book, it’s incredibly rushed. Look up stories of how stories come together. I guarantee you that the authors took much longer than four weeks. It’s a months-long process.

When I got the last week, I realized I was running short on time. I had to decide which pages were going to stay, and which were going to go. The end result is a story that is shorter than I would like, but it’s still pretty cohesive.

Once the book was done, it was time to upload and publish it. I had to think of the audience for the story. I wasn’t sure what to pick at first. It tells the story of a 6th grader, and students that age are usually reading chapter books. They aren’t reading picture books.

So who is the audience for this book? I mulled over it. In the end I decided it was for a couple audiences. First, kids like my son that could use a story to explain a big change that will take place in their life. My son has been at the same elementary school for eight years. I’m not sure how he’ll cope with permanently leaving the school he’s known for most of his life.

The second audience for this book is younger kids. They may not be going to middle school just yet. But it’s a fun story I think they’ll enjoy.

So that’s the back story. It’s funny when I think about it. As an artist, we are sometimes slave to our inspirations. If I didn’t have that spark, I would have never created this book.

So the book was complete by Memorial day weekend, I uploaded it for publishing and it ready by the beginning of June. Then it arrived on my doorstep this afternoon, and I gave it to the teachers after school. I haven’t heard any feedback yet, I hope my efforts were worthwhile and they enjoy the story.

If you read it, comment and let me know what you think.